St. Marks River Expected To Rise Well Above Flood Stage

Slowly but surely the St. Marks River in Wakulla County is climbing above flood stage.

Don Knight has some property along the river where he sometimes stays in his RV.

His main home is along the St. Johns River in Jacksonville.

"Every time you get weather like this, you start looking at your boat house or dock to see if its going to be under water," Knight said.

A National Weather Service flood warning predicts the St. Marks will reach 10.1 feet.

Flood stage is 8 feet.

At 9 feet nearby Natural Bridge Road is expected to be under water.

Wakulla County Emergency Management is also keeping a close eye on the Sopchoppy River.

Less than two years ago, the river nearly reached bridges in the town of Sopchoppy after Tropical Storm Debby dumped between 20 and 30 inches of rain on the county.

"And there was water in spots where people had never seen water before," said Keith Blackmar of the Wakulla County Sheriff's Office. "So we take it pretty seriously after that I can assure you of that," he said.

Wakulla County had a search and rescue boat at the time Debby hit.

After the storm, the county added an air boat.

"So if we have to go in areas that are a little bit hard to navigate but are flooded, we have that possibility, now hopefully we won't have to use it," said Blackmar.

Knight remembers flooding so bad a few years before Debby, the road where he talked to us was under water.

"It got pretty bad down here then, it won't get like that now," he said. Certainly, it'll just come up a little bit compared to that," said Knight.

The National Weather Service also has a flood warning for the Ochlocknee River in Leon, Gadsden, Thomas and Grady counties.

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